The 15 most common Paraphilias (and their characteristics)

People have many different tastes and, of course, this is also reflected in sex. What attracts people sexually can be very diverse or occur in striking and unconventional situations.

Paraphilias are unusual patterns of sexual behavior where the source of pleasure can be an object, a specific situation or a special type of person. Thanks to the media and works like "50 shades of gray" by E. L. James, the general knowledge about them has been increasing.

They have also been the subject of controversy, especially in the field of psychology and psychiatry, since it has been discussed whether they should be considered pathological behaviors.

While some paraphilias involve crimes, such as voyeurism and pedophilia, most of them are not harmful and are part of human sexual diversity.

• Recommended article: "Filias and paraphilias: definition, types and characteristics"

What are the most common Paraphilias?

There are countless paraphilias, practically one for every imaginable situation or object. Those that are the most common are described below.

It is about taking pleasure in exposing your genitals to strangers in an unexpected way. Showing intimate parts without warning creates a situation of sexual gratification for the exhibitionist.

This practice, which involves crime, is more common in men than in women, and has been linked to the fact of have grown up in a strict environment and have a not very assertive and shy personality, with few skills social.

Fetishism is defined as the set of sexual behaviors, fantasies and needs in which the use of an inanimate object is required to feel pleasure. Some of the most common objects among fetishists are shoes, lingerie, leather, and rubber.

Everything that is done with the object and generates sexual pleasure is considered fetishism, such as stealing it, masturbating with it or simply watching it. This paraphilia has become so common that there are specialized websites where you can buy objects to satisfy the fetish.

It involves feeling sexual pleasure when touching the genitals in an unknown person and that she has not consented.

It is more common in men than in women and is conduct that involves sexual harassment. Smearists can take advantage of situations where there is a large crowd of people, such as on public transportation or on busy streets, and rub themselves on their victims.

It is defined as the strong desire to have sex with a minor, especially those who are under 14 years old. Those who carry out this criminal behavior benefit from the inequality of power that exists between the child and the adult.

The profile of the child sexual abuser has been related to a difficult childhood, in which he was a victim of this type of violence, especially a man of the family, however, it is important to bear in mind that not all people abused in their childhood will end up being pedophiles when they come to life adult.

Sexual masochists take pleasure in situations in which they are physically and psychologically humiliated, beaten, tortured, and tied up. It is more common in women.

If masochism is heads, sadism is the cross of the same coin. This paraphilia implies feeling sexual gratification in the act of humiliating, exercising domination and torturing another person in an unsimulated way.

Sadomasochistic practices are one of the most common and require that they be carried out in a consensual manner and according to the degree of intensity that those who perform them agree in advance.

Common scenarios include whipping the victim's buttocks and back, binding with ropes or bondage, and nipple and genital torture.

7. Crossdresser Fetishism

It is common in heterosexual men and It is defined as feeling sexual pleasure when dressing as the other gender.

It should be noted that cross-dressing fetishism and cross-dressing are not the same. This second term refers in a more general sense to dressing of the other gender. Thus, transsexuals and drag-queens do crossdress but not in a fetishistic way, since they do not do it for sexual pleasure.

It involves enjoying sexually when observing a naked person, without her being aware that she is being spied on. This paraphilia implies a crime against the privacy of others.

To consider it voyeurism it is necessary that the observer has planned it and has done it on several occasions. Having seen a person naked and having enjoyed it but unintentionally would not be considered paraphilic behavior.

9. Bias

It consists of feeling sexual pleasure towards a specific part of the body, with the exception of the genitals. It is similar to fetishism, but the nuance between these two paraphilias is the fact that in one the object of pleasure is inanimate, while in partialism sexual pleasure is felt by something that is in the body of a living person.

Partialism is quite common and can manifest itself in multiple ways depending on which party you are on. feel pleasure: podophilia (feet), oculophilia (eyes), maschalagnia (armpits), nasophilia (nose), alvinofilia (belly button)...

Necrophiliacs are sexually attracted to corpses, both humans and animals. This preference is considered pathological and implies a crime to be carried out.

A famous case of necrophilia is the case of Carl tanzler, who was able to exhume the corpse of the woman from her life and have relations with her.

11. Urophilia and coprophilia or scat

In the case of urophilia, the object of desire is urine, either by ingesting it or by being wet with it (golden shower). Touching, seeing, listening to someone urinate can be sufficient stimulus to generate sexual gratification.

Coprophilia becomes a paraphilia practically identical to urophilia, only that the object of pleasure is the feces and everything related to them.

Zoophiles fantasize about having sex with animals or they even do it. This type of sexual attraction is common to find in rural areas.

13. Knismolagnia or tickling

It implies all that erotic activity in which when tickling or receiving generates pleasure. It is considered a paraphilia as long as tickling is used as an element to achieve orgasm.

14. Asphyxiophilia or breath control play

It consists of feeling pleasure when breathing is intentionally restricted, either on one's own (autoerotic asphyxia) or on one's partner. It is one of the most dangerous since it can lead to accidental death from hypoxia.

It is the sexual preference for elderly people, or whose age is conspicuously older than that of the gerontóphile.

Bibliographic references:

• American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2013
• Flores Colombino, A. (2002). Paraphilias and sexual variants. Editorial AyM.